Nick Kroll and Andrew Rannells worked together for years on the Netflix hit cartoon Big Mouth. If you believed the show, known for descriptive and creative depictions of sex, lacked a bloody slasher element, their latest film may be for you. I Don’t Understand You is a violent, dark comedy that keeps you guessing on which twisted direction writers and directors David Joseph Craig and Brian Crano will go next.
Kroll and Rannells play Dom and Cole, a well-established couple waiting to hear back about adopting a child after a prospective parent pulled out at the last minute. To keep themselves distracted for their anniversary, they go to Italy. Keen on enjoying the sights and the food scene, Dom jumps at the opportunity to eat at a local woman’s “restaurant”, despite his partner’s protests of keeping with their plans.
Their car getting stuck in a ditch should have been the first indication that their time at Zia’s home was doomed. It’s the first in a series of misfortunes that Cole and Dom face. The homeowner, Zia (Nunzia Schiano), is initially excited to have the couple in her home as their relationship is one she strives for her son Massimo (Morgan Spector) to have. But as misinterpreted microaggressions overshadow the meal, things take a deadly turn.
This movie is bonkers. Crano and Craig crank up the comedic tension with little regard for comfort. Sure, their commentary about Americans abroad is all too common nowadays, with The White Lotus dominating television. But their ability to (no pun intended) bite through what’s been done before and create a cohesive narrative around American individualism makes the story feel fresh.
If you’ve been following Kroll and Rannell’s careers, you know that these parts were made for them. The former excels at playing the food obsessed douchebag that prides himself on using Duolingo to learn Italian, even though he can’t use it at all. Rannell’s performance rings similar to his turn as Elijah in HBO’s Girls, the codependent truthteller that eventually submits to what the more dominant one in the relationship. The two work well together and become the oblivious jack-asses Crano and Craig need them to become.
I Don’t Understand You is not for everyone. It’s unrelenting in its gore and the leads can be exhausting. The script is not laugh-out-loud funny, but it’s backed by good ideas and solid performances, mainly by Kroll, Rannells and Amanda Seyfried, who is playing their perspective birth parent. Those who love dark comedy, gore, and even cringe comedy, will love this.
Vertical has released I Don’t Understand You in theaters.
